Executive President Zhuo Rongtai inspected the progress of the widening project of National Highway No. 1 Wudu Interchange to Xizhi Interchange today (31st). Regarding the project's failed bid, Zhuo Rongtai said that although it has gone through rigorous design so far, he is still concerned about the bidding and project progress. Chen Yanbo, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, told the Expressway Bureau that the main reason is the lack of labor and materials among the private sector. The bidding conditions are currently being reviewed and communicated with potential manufacturers. It is expected to conduct online bidding again in November and make every effort to start construction in the first half of next year. It is expected to be completed in September 2031.
Zhuo Rongtai inspected the "widening project of the section from Wuda Interchange to Xizhi Interchange of National Highway 1" in the afternoon. Keelung City Council Speaker Tong Ziwei and others were present.
Chen Wenrui, director of the High School, pointed out in a briefing that 73% of Keelung's southbound traffic uses National Highway 1. Currently, the section from Wudu to Xizhi has huge traffic flow during peak hours and insufficient capacity on the main line. In addition, National Highway 1 and National 3 traffic merge into interweaving conflicts, resulting in serious back congestion. The High Power Bureau plans five major improvements: widening 3.45 meters to add lanes on both sides of the national right-of-way, widening the four bridges across the Keelung River, changing the entrance and exit of the weighbridge station to parallel ramps to improve traffic flow, adding independent ramps and improving distribution roads to eliminate interweaving problems, and simultaneously reinforcing five slope piles.
Chen Wenrui said that the total project cost is 3.65 billion yuan, and the total length of the widened area is 5.7 kilometers. After the completion of the project, the peak driving speed is expected to increase from 20 to 30 kilometers to 80 to 82 kilometers, and the driving time between Keelung and Xizhi and back to Taipei can be saved by 10 to 15 minutes.
No one submitted a bid for the project on October 27. Chen Wenrui explained that due to private labor shortages and tight material sources, manufacturers are more cautious in their assessments. They are currently reviewing and adjusting the bidding conditions. It is expected to conduct online bidding again in November. The target is to start construction in the first and second quarters of 2027, with a construction period of about four and a half years, and strive to be completed in September 2031.
Chen Yanbo, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, said that many projects of the Ministry of Transport have faced similar bidding situations. Relevant units will review the construction methods and schedules and listen to the opinions of potential manufacturers to facilitate subsequent bidding. The relevant design of the project has been completed. The Ministry of Transport will eliminate bidding issues as soon as possible and actively search for manufacturers. After returning to the Internet next month, we will strive to start construction as scheduled in the first half of next year, and implement construction and maintenance measures. We must speed up the completion of improvement projects.
In his speech, Zhuo Rongtai pointed out that the case approved more than two years ago had been rigorously designed, and what he was most worried about now was whether the bidding could go smoothly. The traffic bottleneck from Taipei, New Taipei to Keelung is a cross-county and city problem, and must be planned by the Ministry of Transportation as a whole. This project uses improvement methods such as "road widening, adding ramps, re-diversion, and untying knots." It is hoped that the central and local governments will work together to open up the traffic bottleneck and give villagers a safe, smooth and convenient way home.
